How about Dahlias? Mine are blooming great at this time of year. There are pure white flowering varieties as well as many other solid and mixed colors. The foliage is usually a dark green shade. They last about 4 days in water. You could also look for white Lisianthus, mine is still blooming at this time of year. (Just search Google images for white Lisianthus for photos.) White chrysanthemums should also be readily available this time of year. For greenery you might look for Euonymus kiautschovica 'Manhattan': or Euonymus japonicus 'Silver King' which has green and white variegated foliage: Ornamental grasses (Miscanthus, etc.) are very nice (and very tall) to use too and at this time of year they should be starting to bloom as well. Some cut flower growers raise a plant for cutting that is similar to Queen Anne's lace called Ammi. I've grown it but I thought it smelled too bad to use in cut arrangements. ;( Perhaps you could use it if the arrangement is only viewed from a distance. Another nice lacey plant that you could look for is called Trachelium. It's available in white as well as several other colors including violet, mauve, pink and blue. I grew a dark violet shade this season called Black Knight which is still blooming although the flower heads have gotten smaller and the stems thinner as the season has progressed.

Well you don't have to use sugar. It is there just to off-set the strong vinegar bite a bit. It only plays a very small, if any, safety role anyway. But you sure need to use a tested recipe when it comes to knowing how much vinegar unless you plan to use straight 5% vinegar. The taste would be really off-putting to me with white vinegar and no sugar but taste is a matter of preference. If you like them that sharp and acidic then go for it. You can always add a bit of sugar after opening if they are too sharp. Personally, given your list of ingredients I'd use the Pickled Dilled Okra recipe and sub the green tomatoes for the okra. The problem with "Mom recipes" is that we often forget, or never knew, exactly what all was in them. She may have put sugar in when you weren't looking. ;) Dave

Here is a picture that shows the worms I've been finding as well (top part of the leaf)

So many of our cities are busting at the seams - population density growing and land fills long gone in and around urban areas. Lets make more garbage - lets buy it at the box and we can change it in two years when we are making more money. Why do we live this way? Why are we all so concerned for our planet and so many people just do nothing? I am a father of 3 beautiful girls. My eldest is 8 and in grade 3. In grade one they teach you about power smart - eco options and what to do if there is an earthquake or fire. When your 6 year old (now 8) starts on you for not powering down the Mac Book you know the schooling is working. Then you think??? How can I make this little girl so proud of her Daddy? Daddy changes. Daddy is a builder. Daddy starts learning how to be a better builder and to build more green. Now this same little one is 7 and we are renovating our home. What can I do to be greener? How much of my home can I save? Answer: A-lot. A year goes by your middle one is 6 your house isn't finished because you won't settle - you had to keep everything and build it right. More talk about the Hydro and more talk about our fish, our recycling and starving kids in Africa. Their is terrible loss in Haiti - this saddens my eldest to a level I was unaware she could feel. My heart breaks - what can I do. Do more. Do it today. Make a difference. I ramped up my recycling, saved everything I could and those scraps - that garbage. Why throw it out? I can take 10 minutes; I have the skill and the tools - why not chop up these bits and bites and given them to my 4 year olds preschool. This is a Montessori program and the teacher is passionate about crafts, visual learning. Crafts are expensive. What does it cost me? An hour (there is always chit chat at drop off) nothing. Easy. Now there is a new University program in need of garbage for an arts course. New art. Green art. I build luxury bathrooms and work with beautiful tile and product. I always have waste. Why dump. The kids can glue it. I have spoken with my suppliers and they are going to save for me - crap, junk, and garbage. Maybe a can or two a month - not much. But one more step forward. How can I do more? Think. Think. Why not help online. Save people from making mistakes and then save a little more garbage in 3-7 years time. This has been my last year. Helping, Building, Recycling, Saving. Now today Im a better man, I do more - but I push myself. What else? It pains me to overhear bad advice in our "Box" stores. They give it out every day. Many unskilled kids and weekend warriors working part time. I went under cover and disguised myself as overweight, father of 3 and hit the "Box Stores" for some advice. I visited them all in Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver - many of these stores more than once. This took me three days to complete over our Canadian long weekend. I visited 2 of my tile suppliers and also 2 building yards more geared to contractor business than every day retail. The results where mind blowing. The advice so bad it enraged me. I ask you this. "How can these stores endorsed by our celebrity builders dispense advice that can make a home sick - make a home unsafe. A home that leaks. A home that is unsafe because of unapproved non-fire rated wire. Why can I go into a store and buy flashing for a window in a city infested with leaky condos and the flashing does not meet current code??? Is it right that these same stores then profit from the looming rebuild. And a round and around you go. In the end more waste and this waste is the bad kind, old insulation, drywall, concrete board etc." We have codes here in our town and you have yours. Should it not be some sort of company policy that an employee actually reads the instructions on a product label before dispensing advice as an "expert" or "flooring associate"? Can an employee who helps sell products to build my bathroom at my box store tell me that it is OK to use drywall and mastic for my tub shower? This is one of the most known no no's - yet this advice was given to me by 3 of 10 "Experts". So when your busy trying to clean up the dishes, answer your emails and you let your kids play in the bath for an extra half hour (it's great to hear them laugh at bath time) - think about who built this shower, how it was built and it if the backside of those shower walls are covered in mold? Why are our kids so sick all the time? These new products are incredible. There is no reason for kids to get sick, homes to rot or a house to burn to the ground. Stores should point out product, stock shelves - but if they want to tell you how to do something they better dam well know what they are talking about. Another question for you to ponder; "Why is it that when I go into my plumbing and electrical wholesalers the staff are not allowed to tell you what to buy. You have to ask for it by name? Think about it???" But at the Box they can advertise that they can help but in fact send you out the door with a weekend project that no pro could do in 4 days. I'm going to change this - myself. Right now. I started on Friday and hope to have solid progress to report by weeks end. I'll be contacting Rona tomorrow and will share my insight in their staffs training. Look Girls! Look at what we did as a family and for whom we did it for. Our friends. Their friends. The planet. Because it's the right thing to do and to not turn a blind eye. Look how one little bathroom contractor can change a multi million-dollar company(s). Makes me proud to see my daughter well up when I shared the good news today that Home Depot is going to change. And not just in my town. But Canada wide! I was contacted by Tiziana Baccega Manager, Public Relations & External Affairs The Home Depot Tel:416-412-6570 Fax: 416-412-6792 and she thanked me for my insight and made me fill quite confident that this retraining will happen and will happen soon. I will keep you posted. It is wrong that the retailers profit and while they wait for the rebuild we get sick - breathe mold and we send our kids to this very spot every day to breathe more. No No No. It is not right - and I am going to stop it. "Waterproofing a shower is not something you can almost do perfect. When it's perfect. It's good enough." - John Whipple __________________ .